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Having successfully expelled forces linked to the Al-Islah Party from Yemen’s oil-rich Shabwa province in 2022, pro-Southern Transition Council (STC) groups are now aiming to remove the last remnants of fighters from the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated group from Wadi Hadramawt – a strategically-important 640km-long valley at the centre of Hadramawt province.

There are signs that the drone war in Yemen could be entering a new phase, with wider deployment of unmanned aircraft by several groups involved in the conflict. While Houthi drone capabilities, facilitated by Iran, are well established, observers point out that pro-government forces are also now deploying their own drone assets, allegedly provided by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition. There were fears among southern forces that Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) may also join the drone war, as pressures mount across the south.

Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammad Shia Al-Sudani travelled to Berlin in January for an official visit – his first to Europe since taking office in October. Energy and security issues dominated the agenda, with discussions about potential Iraqi gas supplies to Germany and the ongoing work by Siemens Energy to rehabilitate Iraq’s electricity sector, following a deal with the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity in 2019.

A number of Kilo-class submarines were seen during Exercise Zulfaqar 1401, held by the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy (Nedaja) in early January, following a period when all of the boats had been out of service.

Following the change in the UAE's chief of staff, Ali Mohammed Hammad Al-Shamsi was promoted in January to Supreme Council for National Security (SCNS) secretary general (SG) via another federal decree. Al-Shamsi was previously deputy SG.

State-owned Edge Group subsidiary Abu Dhabi Shipbuilding (ADSB) has started work on Falaj 3-class fast patrol ships for the UAE Navy, following a contract award for four of the vessels in 2021.

The United Kingdom government said in December that it was hosting some 21 military personnel from the Gulf for liaison and engagement purposes.

The United States Navy said it had seized 2,116 AK-47 assault rifles in the Gulf of Oman in January that were being sent from Iran to Yemen.

UAE President Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan (MBZ) appointed Staff Lieutenant General Engineer Issa Saif Mohammed Al-Mazrouei as chief of staff of the UAE Armed Forces, via a decree issued early January. It was the first time the role has changed hands in 18 years.

For all United Nations special envoy to Yemen Hans Grundberg’s efforts at shuttle diplomacy, the continued failure to relaunch the UN-backed ceasefire – which ended in October – has raised the prospect of renewed threats to shipping in the waters around Yemen. This has particular resonance for the UAE, which has often resorted to using commercial vessels as part of its security response.

The Iranian authorities’ harsh crackdown on the protesters appears to be having an impact, with far fewer public demonstrations now being reported. Thousands have been arrested and at least four protestors have been hanged following what critics have called sham trials.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ elite Quds Force provides a command and control template that facilitates the IRGC’s work with allies across the region, led by Lebanese Hizbollah and apparent in Iraq, Syria and Yemen.

The failure of Yemen’s warring parties to renew their truce in October is regarded by many observers as a sign of both the increasing strength of the Houthi rebel group and a failure of the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) to resolve its own internal differences.

Kuwait’s National Assembly (parliament) agreed on 14 December to look into alleged graft in two controversial defence contracts: a $9bn deal with Leonardo in 2016 to supply 28 Eurofighter Typhoons and a deal to buy 30 Caracal helicopters from Airbus.

Saudi defence minister Prince Khalid Bin Salman was in London on 13 December for talks with his counterpart Ben Wallace and to sign a new bilateral defence agreement.